Timeline of Ronnie Ortiz-Magro’s Tumultuous Relationship With Jen Harley

Who knows where to start when it comes to Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley?

The Jersey Shore couple has had its share of ups and downs since they first announced they were seeing each other in November 2017, stretching to Harley’s June 24 arrest for domestic battery, culminating in a relationship decision Ortiz-Magro’s friends and co-stars did not agree with.

Amid accusations of infidelity and drug use, much of which has played out on Jersey Shore Family Vacation, the two have tied themselves to one another even more, welcoming daughter Ariana in May.

Here’s how things went from readying the nursery to dealing with the police.

Early Days

Things looked rosy for the couple when they first took their relationship public in November 2017.

“Yes — we are serious,” Ortiz-Magro said in an interview with Us Weekly at the time. “She is the first person I finally really fell in love with. I want to settle down and have a family; she is that person for me.”

The two had even discussed getting married, he added.

“We think about it,” Ortiz-Magro said. “One day I am in Vegas and the next day I am on The Shore again. So yes, we think about it, but right now things are good.”

 

Pregnancy

So when the couple revealed they were expecting their first child together in December 2017, it seemed like the MTV personality had really turned things around since his relationship with Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola.

He told Us Weekly at the time that the couple would be having a girl and that Harley was six months along before they spilled the beans publicly.

The two couldn’t be happier to be welcoming a baby, he told the publication, but fans of Jersey Shore Family Vacation know differently.

While Harley was pregnant, Ortiz-Magro was doing some serious spiralling in Miami, bringing home women from the club and doubting whether their relationship was strong enough to weather a baby.

Welcome Ariana

In April 2018, Harley and Ortiz-Magro welcomed their little girl Ariana, and a source told PEOPLE that the new dad was “over the moon.”

“I feel like no one’s ever prepared to become a dad. Everyone’s like, ‘Are you ready?’ And I’m like as ready as I’m ever going to be. But I’ve had younger sisters and I’m great with kids, and I’m actually looking forward to it. I’m not worried about it,” he told the publication, adding that while he and Harley were deeply in love, they weren’t planning on getting married anytime soon.

“The next ring I’m going to buy is a teething ring!” he joked.

Things were about to take a really dark turn…

 

Social Media Squabble

The happy Jersey Shore family’s facade soon cracked, however. Soon after the episode of Family Vacation in which Ortiz-Magro possibly cheated on Harley aired in late April 2018, the two went at each other on social media over Harley allegedly holding onto explicit photos from an ex.

“Note to self, can’t turn a natural born H—, into a HOUSEWIFE, if you find them in the gutter then leave them in the gutter,” Ortiz-Magro wrote on his Instagram Story.

Harley responded by calling Ortiz-Magro a “coke head,” writing, “He wants to act fake on the show and like I’m random he knocked up lol he was trying to get me pregnant,” she claimed. “And then cheats on me while I’m preg on TV and then leaves me with a newborn baby lol baby daddy of the year award goes to [Magro-Ortiz].”

The two were also seen engaging in a physical altercation on an Instagram Live.

The MTV personality later apologized, writing on social media, “I want to apologize for earlier to my fans and especially to [Harley] I acted out of my gut and not rationally. I should’ve never acted in such a manor [sic]. My deepest apologizes (sic).” The couple then reportedly broke things off.

On-Again, Off-Again

In May 2018, the couple appeared to be trying to work things out for the good of their daughter, reuniting at the very least to parent their 1-month-old daughter.

“They are on speaking terms and things are better than anyone could ever expect a couple days [after their breakup],” a source told Us Weekly shortly after the couple broke up. “They have to be in order to co-parent. Ronnie’s main priority is his daughter and that’s all he is concerned about at at the moment — that she’s in the best situation.”

Things were looking up for the couple, another source told PEOPLE.

“Ronnie’s been doing better. He’s been going to the gym, working on himself,” they said. “And things with Jen have been pretty calm, surprisingly. It’s getting a lot better.”

“They are trying to work things out and co-parent,” the source added. “They’re splitting time with the baby and just want her to have the best life. He just wants to do the right thing for his daughter.”

The two would go on to break up and get back together at least one more time before things turned ugly once more. 

 

Las Vegas Incident

Things turned physical for the couple once again in June during the filming of Jersey Shore Family Vacation Season 2, when Harley allegedly confronted Ortiz-Magro at a Las Vegas hotel and had the police called on her.

“Ronnie and Jen have been fighting over their daughter. Ronnie has been filming the show in Vegas the last couple of days and Jen wouldn’t tell him where their daughter is. She showed up to the hotel where they were filming,” a source told Us Weekly at the time. “Jen lunged, spit and shoved Ronnie. Hotel security got involved, who then called the Las Vegas police department.”

“When police got to the hotel, they couldn’t find Jen,” the insider added. “She left the hotel at that point. They are still trying to find her for questioning.”

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to the publication that the police were called to the scene of the alleged battery. “Officers arrived and Jen Harley was not there,” Officer Rivera said at the time. “Officers determined a battery did take place. Officers will submit a warrant for Domestic Violence to the District Attorney’s office, the DA will then determine if they will make it an active warrant.”

Domestic Battery Arrest

In late June 2018, Harley found herself behind bars under suspicion of domestic battery after allegedly dragging Ortiz-Magro behind her moving car after getting into a fight on the way home from a barbecue. 

“Jen hit Ronnie in the face during the argument, and he asked [her to] pull over and let him out of the car,” a source told Us Weekly. “She stopped, and Ronnie tried getting out and got caught in his seatbelt. Jen started driving away, dragging Ronnie. Ariana was in the car at the time in the back seat. … Ronnie’s face was bloodied and bruised, and he’s got a nasty road rash.”

According to a police report obtained by TMZ, Harley claimed that Ortiz-Magro hit her within the car, but police determined that she was the primary aggressor.

Harley was later released from jail on $3,000 bail.

Friend Intervention

In the aftermath of Harley’s arrest, Ortiz-Magro’s Jersey Shore castmates have reportedly been urging him to cut ties with the mother of his child for the safety of himself and his baby.

However, the reality star is allegedly afraid that if he withdraws, Harley will file for sole custody of their child, TMZ reported.

But a source close to Harley said all is not as it seems in an interview with Hollywood Life.

“Things are not as they seem, and Jen definitely isn’t the monster she is being made out to be,” the person said, adding, “That is all I have to say on the matter.”

Reunion

Even after his friends advised him not to stay with Harley, the couple decided to stay together, likely for the sake of Ariana. Just weeks after the car dragging incident, Ortiz-Magro told his co-stars his reasoning behind the decision. 

“No single Ronnie right now,” he told Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, who was shocked at the news, on the Oct. 4 episode of Jersey Shore Family Vacation. “I’m a single dad. You know, we’ll see.”

“You know, me and Jen, we’ve been talking, and I don’t want her to feel bad she’s in the middle of this. It’s just like, she doesn’t know what’s going on. We gotta get ourselves together and that’s what I’m doing,” he continued.

“I wanna support Ronnie, but this is crazy,” Pauly added. “I do not think Ron and Jen should ever get back together.”

The pair even stepped out together in Central Park that day, taking Ariana for a walk. Harley seemed to poke fun at their situation, wearing a T-shirt with print that read, “MORE ISSUES THAN VOGUE.”

Photo credit: Instagram/Jen Harley